Dr Stephen Woolcock CBG.8.09

This course is available on the MPA in International Development, MPA in Public Policy and Management, MPA in Public and Economic Policy, MPA in Public and Social Policy, MPA in Social Impact, MSc in International Affairs (LSE and Peking University), MSc in International Political Economy, MSc in International Political Economy (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in International Political Economy (Research) and MSc in Political Science and Political Economy. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

All students are required to obtain permission from the Teacher Responsible by completing the Student Statement box on the online application form linked to course selection on LSE for You. Admission is not guaranteed due to limited space.

The course begins with a discussion of the ideational factors that have shaped and continue to shape trade policy, before introducing some of the core analytical models that help with our understanding of the political economy of trade. The course then covers  the nature of trade and investment in the 21st century, including among other things the impact of the growth of global supply chains on the political economy of trade and investment. The domestic and international institutional frameworks within which trade and investment policy are conducted are discussed. The course then considers some of the underlying trends in trade towards the use of preferential and plurilateral rather than multilateral approaches. There is coverage of the links between trade and development, the main topics in current negotiations including agriculture and food security, trade in manufactures, services and investment, digital trade and sustainable trade. The current crisis in the world trading system is discussed as are the sources of international trade frictions.

This course is delivered through a combination of seminars and lectures totalling a minimum of 20 hours across Michaelmas Term. This year, some or all of this teaching will be delivered through a combination of online lectures and in-person classes/classes delivered online. Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy.

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the MT.

The formative assessment is 2,000 words. 

• Heydon. K and Woolcock. S (eds) (2012) The Ashgate Research Companion to International Trade Policy, HF 1379 A 82: e-book and hard copies available.
• Hoekman. B and Kosteki. (2009) The Political Economy of the World Trading System HF 1359 H69 e-book available but reasonably price in paperback so something to purchase.
• Martin. L (ed) (2014) Oxford Handbook of The Political Economy of International Trade, available as an e-book.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the January exam period.